Unless you have been asleep under a rock (hopefully not a Northern Rock), you will not be surprised to hear that these are unprecedented times for financial markets. Global financial markets have been terrifyingly volatile over the past couple of months. Institutional and retail investors alike have been reducing their exposure to risky assets in their droves. Despite major stockmarkets having staged a bounce from an extreme bout of selling, their losses for the year remain appalling.
The sheer volatility of markets, with hundred-point daily swings common, has led to many cautious investors cashing in their equity investments, hoping to find shelter in lower-risk asset classes. But deciding where to reinvest hasn't been easy. With commercial property in the doldrums, and the corporate bond sector still relatively shaky, investors in search of attractive returns for not too much additional risk have been left with few options. In this climate, surely investors would value an investment that offers a known level of capital protection, with the potential to participate in...
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